Sunkissed Serendipity

Chapter 38

Isla

I have been at the Hayes' household for more than 24 hours now. When I volunteered to take care of Jack this morning, I thought that I would leave for my home around 5.

But as I sit with Jack on the couch, watching him play video games, I know it's well over six already. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to text Loraine and ask her when she was going to be home because what if she was doing something important at work? My text will make it seem like she needs to hurry home, which would disturb her work ethic. I didn't know what to do other than sit on the couch and wait for someone to come home.

"Isla?" Jack calls out, and I look toward him to see if he is giving me a curious look. "You look sad, do you—do you want to go home?"

"Oh no," I say, which isn't a lie. It wasn't that I had to immediately go home because I had unexpected things to do; it was just the fact that I've never stayed away for this long. It was making me angsty and a little worried that Loreiane wasn't coming home. I give Jack a smile and say, "No, I'm fine."

He only stares at me for a beat longer in suspicion before deciding to move forward. Handing me a controller from the coffee table, he says, "Want to play with me?"

"Sure," I say, taking the controller with a larger smile. He cheers softly at that before turning to the television and picking out another game. For the next hour or so, I am engrossed in playing video games with Jack, which turns out to be more fun than I expected.

I place the controller on the table and kick at my feet on the floor. Stretching, I say, "So, Jack. I need to use the bathroom. See you in a minute."

"Take your time," he says to me as he switches off the video game and moves on to finding something to watch. I head toward the bathroom, and after I'm done using it, I find noises coming from the living room. Someone must have come home, and that makes me excited as I walk out of the bathroom and into the living room.

When I get in there, I find Julian standing over Jack's shoulder. He talks to him in a soft voice before I walk close enough for him to realize I'm here. He turns to the sound of my footsteps, and when he sees me, his eyes light up in surprise. "Isla!" he shouts, walking the rest of the distance between us and throwing a hand over my shoulder. "You're still here."

"I cannot leave Jack on his own," I explain, a large smile on my face from the fact that I was still hugging him. It made me excited that he was excited to see me as well. I place my head on his shoulder before giving him a squeeze. Julian's hand drops from my shoulder and moves down to my torso, where he pulls away. His hand is on my lower back as he looks down at me.

"My mom's still not home?" he asks with a raised eyebrow. I only shake my head, acutely aware of his hand on my back, and at the way he didn't put too much distance between us. I wonder what it meant—what his excitement at seeing me meant. I mean, I was excited too, but I wondered if it was more than just friendly motives.

"Oh," he says, his smile dropping from his face as he turns to the other side. His hand moves off my back, and he pulls out his phone from his pocket. "It's past 7," Julian says. "My mom was supposed to be by 5. I wonder what's wrong with her."

"What's wrong with who?" comes a curious shout from the couch, and Julian looks over at his brother. Cringing, he wipes the expression off his face with a hand across his mouth and then shakes his head. Softly, he says, "Nothing, buddy. Just stay here and watch your show, okay?"

"It's a movie," Jack replies back, and I can see that he was still curious about the conversation we were having. I give him a smile and say, "It's nothing, Jack. Your bother and I want to talk in private, okay?"